Any Updates for Boost Mobile

by Jackie
(Houston,m Texas)

I have used Boost Mobile for two years and have been very satisfied. Good coverage in my area, sturdy phone, quality sound and service. I have been considering an upgrade from W385 to Blackberry 8530. The problem is I do not want to make the phone purchase and soon after Boost introduces new technology. Are there any plans for Boost to go 4G/3G? Any plans for Boost to introduce Broadband internet in the near future?

Comments for Any Updates for Boost Mobile

I forgot to add that if you buy your new phone using a credit card, many credit cards these days will extend the amount of time you can return a product if the retailer won't accept the return. For example, if a retailer gives you 30 days, your credit card company may give you more time, even up to 90 days to return the product (usually directly to them), even if nothing is wrong with it. Do be sure, however, to check your card's specific terms and conditions. Sometimes it's a simple return policy, while sometimes it's accidental insurance in case you lose or drop it within a certain period of time. The return policy vs. the damaged policy are usually different.

Anyway, depending on your credit card, this may provide you with some additional time in case something newer and better comes out shortly after you buy something!

Jan 21, 2011

New Boost Mobile Productsby: PrepaidWirelessGuy

Ah, yes, the age old question! To buy now or to wait. The fact w/ technology is that there's ALWAYS something newer, better, faster, and cheaper just around the corner. While we all generally understand that (as you clearly do by your question), no one wants to get stuck having that something new come out just days or weeks after we buy a shiny new gadget. I'm sure most of us can't say what our specific tolerance is, whether it's two months, 6 months, or longer, we want to have a sense that we won't experience buyer’s remorse too soon after our purchase.

As much as we try to avoid reading or otherwise finding out about new technologies after making a purchase, in today's media hungry world, it really is hard.

Generally speaking, I always try to buy what I like at the time when I'm ready to purchase with a few caveats. I'll wait a little for a holiday sale, or if something is super new, I'll wait 2 or 3 months for the initial higher price to drop, but at some point you've just to just get it, or you'll find yourself in a perpetual waiting mode.

Now, onto to your specific question about Boost Mobile. Their BlackBerry Curve 8530 is certainly quite an aged device. It's old news, boring, and in desperate need of something fresh, particularly given that Boost doesn't have anything truly exciting to offer at this point. I expect that they are working on getting something out asap, whether it's a nicer BlackBerry, or hopefully an Android device on CDMA (I'm not counting the poor performing iDEN i1). So, you should see a fire sale on this device any day (or month) now, though carriers do tend to try to deplete existing inventory before announcing new handsets to avoid having to take too much of a price (i.e. revenue) hit as people wait for the new device to come out.

I know this isn't much of a definitive answer, sorry. If it were me, I'd wait. The 8530 is old and boring. As Boost hasn't done much of anything interesting (aside from Shrinkage) in 2010 until now, you've gotta hope that something interesting is forthcoming (ex. a flurry of Android phones!). For $199, you can get some much nicer phones with similar plans (ex. MetroPCS, Cricket).

As for a Boost prepaid broadband product. It's hard to say. With Virgin mobile already addressing this product, I'm sure Sprint isn't rushing to address the Boot market with such a product. That said, I'm sure it's inevitable. It will likely look very similar to Virgin's Broadband2Go. Whether they'll use the Virgin call center for support of both brands, or train the Boost call center on a new product is hard to know; however, at the end of the day, I can't imagine the product or pricing will vary much from that of Virgin's. A bundle (phone + modem) may be the only way to really differentiate. Again, only time will tell. In terms of prepaid broadband, though, there are so many options out there now that I don't think it would be worth waiting for Boost to do anything.